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Military Veterans

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Military veterans—individuals who complete military service whether at home or deployed overseas, in peacetime or in combat—are entitled to and in some cases require various government services. RAND research has examined the physical and mental health, interpersonal relationships, and employment problems that U.S. military veterans and their families face, and has recommended policies to support veterans' reintegration into civilian life.

A decade of research at RAND has sought to focus the national conversation about suicide in general, and veteran suicide in particular, around solutions that work. The overwhelming message: We could do more to save the lives of veterans like Daniel Somers. Here is his story.

Almost a third of U.S. veterans live 40 miles or more from the nearest VA medical center, so the VA is trying to make it easier for them to use private providers closer to home. But it will take significant efforts to better prepare civilian doctors to deliver high-quality care to veterans.

Explore Military Veterans

When compared with the civilian labor force, there is less women's representation among those who work for the U.S. Department of Defense. What accounts for this gap? And what could be done to address it?

This issue spotlights RAND's research on how providers can better meet the health care needs of veterans; life as a U.S. Army private; and Air Force efforts to improve leadership opportunities for women.

John McCain's heroism will forever punctuate America's memory of the Vietnam War, reminding us both of the horrors of war and the human potential to transcend them. His heroism also stands out because of how it empowered him as a congressman and senator to do things others could not.

Building on a previous consultation looking at the transition experiences of UK Service leavers, RAND Europe was commissioned by the Forces in Mind Trust to research the effect of Service leavers' resilience on transition pathways and outcomes.

Veterans are interested in complementary non-pharmacologic approaches to manage pain but they cite a range of barriers to access, including poor communication with providers and poor care coordination.

An implementation strategy called Getting to Outcomes increased the number of homeless vets that engaged in treatment in a VA program, but the strategy had no significant effects on hospitalization, mental health, or substance abuse outcomes.

The VA health care system performs similar to or better than non-VA systems on most measures of inpatient and outpatient care quality, although there is high variation in quality across individual VA facilities.

The VA health care system performs similar to or better than non-VA systems on most measures of inpatient and outpatient care quality, although there is high variation in quality across individual VA facilities.

This brief highlights key findings of a RAND survey of providers in New York State regarding the preparedness of community providers (i.e., not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs) to treat veterans.

Few civilian health providers in New York are ready to provide timely, quality care to veterans. More than 90 percent of providers were accepting new patients. But only about 2 percent met all criteria for effectively serving veterans.

A comparison of the unemployment experiences of ex–service members and civilians finds that while both groups had similar durations of unemployment, veterans delayed filing for benefits. But once engaged with employment services, they made active use of tools like job referrals and training.

Research suggests ways to improve federal programs that support military and veteran caregivers. Notably, programs should be tailored to the needs of different populations, such as pre-9/11 and post-9/11 caregivers.

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Researcher Spotlight

Senior Behavioral Scientist

Terri Tanielian is a senior behavioral scientist and a nationally recognized expert on military and veteran health. Her areas of interest include military and veterans health policy; military suicide; military sexual assault; psychological effects of combat, terrorism, and disasters. She has led…

Senior Behavioral Scientist

Karen Chan Osilla is a senior behavioral scientist and clinical psychologist at the RAND Corporation and a member of the Pardee RAND Graduate School faculty. She has been involved in over a dozen clinical trials evaluating cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing (web and…

RAND Policy Currents

The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest.